Charice

Jake Zyrus (Tagalog: [ˈsaɪɾus]; born Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco, known under the mononym Charice; May 10, 1992), formerly known professionally as Charice Pempengco (Tagalog: [ˈtʃaɾis pɛmˈpɛŋkɔ]), is a Filipino singer and television personality.In 2007, after several appearances on Filipino television, Zyrus performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in the United States. The following year, in 2008, he made several international televised appearances, including a special on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which documented his musical ambitions, home life and family, as well as featuring Zyrus singing live in front of Oprah's studio-audience. After receiving a standing ovation, Zyrus turned around (facing the large video screens) and was surprised by the sight of one of his top singing inspirations, Céline Dion (appearing from her tour via Skype); Through the screen, Dion expressed how impressed she was at Zyrus' talent, ending the conversation by inviting him to sing with her that year, at New York City's Madison Square Garden, during a stop on her 2008 world tour. Zyrus tearfully and graciously accepted; at the concert, the two flawlessly sang "Because You Loved Me", dedicating the moment to Zyrus' mother. After the performance, Zyrus received a standing ovation and enthusiastic applause from the 20,000-strong crowd. The performance was eventually replayed on another special episode of Oprah's talk show. It was this moment, with Céline Dion, that propelled Zyrus as a performer. He then began performing in concerts with David Foster (a longtime collaborator with Dion) and Andrea Bocelli, among others. Zyrus released the studio album Charice in 2010; it entered the Billboard 200 at number eight, making it the first album of an Asian solo singer ever to land in the top 10. The single "Pyramid" from that album, featuring singer Iyaz, is Zyrus's most successful single to date, charting within the top 40 in a number of countries after the debut live performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Zyrus would release two further albums, Chapter 10 (2013) and Catharsis (2016). Crossing over to acting and television, Zyrus joined the cast of the musical-comedy-drama TV series Glee, later in 2010, as Sunshine Corazon. In 2011, "Before It Explodes", written by Bruno Mars, was released as the lead single from Zyrus's second international studio album, Infinity. Zyrus was one of the four judges of the Philippine version of The X Factor, on ABS-CBN, in 2012.Zyrus came out as a gay woman in 2013. In 2017, he came out as a transgender male after having male chest reconstruction and beginning testosterone treatment. He adopted the name Jake Zyrus, and discontinued the use of the name "Charice Pempengco".